Golf course



Aug. 5, .1958 o. MORRIS 2,846,229

GOLF COURSE Filed May 24, 1954 CLUBHOUSE 515R V/CE ARE/9 INVENTOR L UTHER 0. Manuals BY 52m ATTORNEYS GOLF COURSE Luther 0. Morris, Decatur, Ga.

Application May 24, 1954, Serial No. 431,680

2 Claims. (Cl. 273-476) My invention relates to golf courses and has for an object the provision of a more efiicient, more compact, and more easily played, full size golf course.

As is well understood, golf courses heretofore have been laid out by providing a fairway having at one end a teeing place or ground arid adjacent its other end the green toward which the player drives the ball. So far as I am aware there has never been placed in a single fairway more than one green. Further, the course has been laid out so that the fairways occupy a disproportionate amount of acreage as compared to each hole to be played. Due to the fact that only a single hole has been placed in each fairway, a person playing nine holes of golf on a conventional nine hole, 36 par course walks an average of 3,700 yards on a regular 3,200 yard course.

In addition, all the foregoing golf courses, as presently laid out require a considerable amount of total acreage. For instance, the average nine hole, conventional golf course requires a minimum of approximately 60 acres of land. The initial construction costs in clearing, grading, sodding fairways and the like as well as the initial cost of the land is extremely high. The annular maintenance of such large areas of fairways and surrounding grounds makes the present day golf course out of reach of prospective builders of courses with the result that substantially only the new golf courses now being built are built by clubs and the like having a very large number of wealthy members. In addition to the foregoing difiiculties concerning conventional golf courses there must be considered the length of time required for playing a round of golf on such a course. For instance, in playing 18 holes on the conventional course the average time is four hours.

In view of all the foregoing the prime object of my invention is to provide a golf course having full length distances between the teeing ground and the holes in which many of the foregoing difiiculties are eliminated or considerably reduced by the provision of one or more fairways having a single teeing place or teeing ground, together with a plurality of greens located in the single fairway toward which the player advances the ball from the single teeing ground.

Another object of my invention is to provide a golf course in which there is a plurality of fairways, preferably one for each 3 holes, so laid out that the last hole of each green is located adjacent the teeing ground of the next higher numbered hole or green, whereby the walking distance to complete the course is considerably reduced over present courses.

Another object is to provide a golf course having at least one fairway within the boundaries of which are located a plurality of greens, each green being spaced from a teeing ground adjacent the end of the fairway at greater distances from said teeing ground than the longest average shot from the teeing ground for the particular green, whereby, players may play on the same fairway in progressive manner without danger of the preceding players being struck by a ball driven by an oncoming player.

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A further object of my invention is to provide a golf course having the foregoing features in which the fairways may conveniently and compactly be laid out around a central clubhouse, parking or service area, whereby, substantially all of the overall allotted acreage is employed to the most complete and practical extent, thus decreasing the overall acreage requirement and providing a golf course having a standard number of standard par holes.

A golf course illustrating the features of my invention is shown somewhat in diagrammatic manner in the single figure of the accompanying drawing.

Referring now to the drawing for a better understanding of my invention I show a schematic and somewhat diagrammatic layout for my improved golf course in which I have assumed that the same would be laid out.

adjacent a highway indicated at 10. From the highway It) there leads into the overall area an access road 11 which may continue around an area bounded by the line 12 and designated as a clubhouse, parking or service area. The required number of lateral roads from the peripherial road 11 into the area 12 may be provided and, since they may vary as desired, the same are not shown.

The golf course may consist of fairways which are indicated by the dotted boundary lines as shown at-A, B, and C. In view of the fact that for the purpose of describing my improved golf course the fairways and the teeing grounds and greens therein are substantially identical, a description of one will suffice for all.

In the fairways, for instance the fairway A, I may' provide a teeing point or ground indicated by the block- 13. Spaced from the teeing ground 13 may be the first green 14 indicated by the circle within which is the large numeral 1 indicating the playing hole. The distance from the teeing ground 13 to the hole 1 may be on the order of -190 yards depending upon the specific layout of the terrain within the fairway A. Further down the fairway I provide the second green, indicated by the circle 16 within which is written the large numeral 2. The distance from the teeing ground 13 to' green 16 may be on the order of 300 to 375 yards. Adjacent the end of the fairway A I provide a third green indicated by the circle 17 and within which is Written the large numeral 3.

hole and hole 3 a 5 par hole.

The greens B and C are substantially identical with the one already mentioned, the green B having a teeing place or ground 13!) and the fairway C having a teeing place or ground 130. The fourth, fifth and sixth holes may be located in the fairway B and may be of the same par and on the order of the distance from their respective teeing ground as are the first, second and third holes, respectively. In like manner, holes 7, 8 and 9 may correspond generally to holes 1, 2, 3 respectively with respect to distance from the teeing ground 130. The teeing ground 13b is located adjacent hole 3, at the end of fairway A, and teeing ground 13c may be located near the sixth hole, in turn adjacent the end of fairway B. The ninth hole may conveniently be located adjacent the clubhouse or other facility as desired.

It will be noted that my improved arrangement of a golf course in which each fairway has more than one green thereon served by a single, common teeing ground, permits a most economical utilization of available acreage. Further, my improved golf course may actually extend around residental areas, schools, industrial plants, and the like. In other words, with my improved golf course layout, the same may be established in those areas where peripherial strips of land are available for sale.

The distance from the teeing ground 13 to green 17 may be on the order of 550 yards. Thus, hole number 1" is a 3 par hole, hole 2 a 4 par 7 a 3 It will be obvious that the fairways A, B and C could join end to end, that they could be laid out substantially parallel, or that they could be laid out in zig-zag manner, or any other desired relative disposition may be made of the same.

When playing my improved golf course the player uses three balls from teeing ground 13. He drives a first ball toward green 1 a second ball toward green 2 and a third ball toward green 3. The player walks down the course, driving to its intended hole the ball nearest teeing place 13, unless, of course, the ball for green number 14 has overshot that green. In this case he drives toward their intended greens the second and third balls and then plays out hole 1. As soon as the player has completed the playing of hole 1 and has advanced balls for holes 2 and 3 at least one stroke further than the initial drive therefor, it will be found that he has advanced far enough down the fairway to clear the same so that subsequent player or players may make their three drives from the teeing ground 13 without danger of hitting the first player. Thus, holes 2, 5 and 8 are spaced far enough from their respective teeing grounds, for instance 300 yards or over, to be out of range of the longest average tee shots for holes 1, 4 and 7, respectively. Holes 3, 6 and 9 are far enough from their respective teeing grounds to be out of range of the two longest average drives for holes 2, 5 and 8 respectively. Therefore, players or groups of players may follow each other in consecutive manner and simultaneously play in the same fairway without danger to the leading players and without likelihood of confusing the shots or losing identity of the balls driven by the individual players.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that I have devised an improved golf course. It will be seen that when using my improved golf course a player may play 9 holes of golf in substantially one-half the time required to play 9 holes on a conventional golf course. The player will have walked substantially one-half the distance that he would Walk in playing 9 holes on the conventional golf course.

Due to the fact that my improved golf course, without sacrificing distances or without changing pars on the holes occupies substantially one-half the acreage of conventional golf courses, it is ideally suited for installation in crowded areas where land values are very high. Further, the annual maintenance of the course is cut sub;- stantially in half. In addition, with my improved arrangement of the tees, fairways, and greens the entire golf course may be laid out in a most attractive manner around a central club-house area so that an economical, efiicient, attractive and easily played golf course is provided.

While I have shown my invention in but one form, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof, and I desire, therefor, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are specifically set forth in the apa playing hole, a single teeing ground at said forward end of the fairway forming a common teeing ground for all of the three playing holes so that a player may play all of said three playing holes from a common teeing ground while progressively advancing a separate golf ball by successive strokes to each of the playing holes, said playing greens being spaced at such distances from each other that the second green is located farther from the teeing ground than the longest average drive to the first green, and the third green is located farther from the second green than the longest average drive for said second green whereby players may play on the same fairway in progressive manner Without the liability of the preceding players being struck by a ball driven by an oncoming player.

2. A golf course comprising first, second, and third elongated fairways, each of said fairways having first, second and third numbered greens located within the bounds thereof and at different distances from the forward end of the fairways, each of said greens embodying a playing hole, a single teeing ground at the forward end of each of said fairways forming a common teeing ground for all of the three playing holes therein so that a player can play all of said three playing holes from a common teeing ground while progressively advancing a separate golf ball by successive strokes to each of the playing holes, said greens being spaced at such distances from each other that the second green is located farther from the common teeing ground than the longest average drive to the first green, and the third green is located farther from the second green than the longest average drive for said second green whereby players may play on the same fairway in progressive manner without the liability of the preceding players being struck by a ball driven by an oncoming player, and a central land area substantially enclosed by said first, second and third fairways.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,825,778 Chester Oct. 6, 1931 1,851,423 Ely Mar. 29, 1932 2,003,074 Gage May 28, 1935 2,455,806 Reach Dec. 7, 1948 2,550,480 Hubbard Apr. 24, 1951 OTHER REFERENCES Golf Illustrated, page 20, March 1927. 

